Book Critique: How Jesus Became Godbook critique how jesus became god In writing this book critique and researching related materials about the book, I've come to the conclusion that puts an end to the discussion about religion in general and the divinity of Jesus in particular. If you believe in what you believe, that is a matter of faith. And that is enough. No matter the evidence or the lack of it, you believe your truth as you see fit. And nobody or nothing can shake you from your faith. And I say book critique not book review because I include by own ideas about Jesus in particular and about religion in general. This idea of "matter of faith" is not new of course, it has been argued about by both sides since men argued about gods. But to my mind, it gets more relevance when I read Bart Ehrman's “How Jesus Became God: The exaltation of of a Jewish preacher from Galilee,” published by HarperOne this year. Ehrman says Jesus was a lower class preacher who thought the end was coming, and that God would establish his kingdom on earth with Jesus as king. He did not walk around saying he was God. He at least said he was the promised messiah who came from God to save sinners. But the end did not come, Jesus died on the cross, and his disciples scattered to avoid persecution. But something happened. The disciples began having visions of the resurrected Jesus, and the apostle Paul heard the voice of Jesus on the road to Damascus. It is this chain of events that emboldened the disciples to preach the good news of salvation: That believers will also rise from the dead, like Jesus, and join him in the heavenly kingdom. With this belief in resurrection, there evolved the concept of Jesus from human to divine to God. He was human until he was exalted by God to divine status, to favored angelic status, to adoptive son of God, to equal to God, to God as a person of the trinity. Thru the early years, some followers believed he became divine at his baptism, others at his birth, still others before Creation making him the One God of ancient Israel. Ehrman and scholars call this conceptual evolution as christology --- exaltation, adoptionist, incarnational christologies. The early churches couldn't agree on the humanity/divinity of Jesus --- that he was fully human guided by the Spirit of God, that he was human and at the same time divine, or that he was divine in a spirit body --- until Emperor Constantine convened the bishops to Nicea, to decide once and for all the church's unifying belief. The bishops came up with what we now know as the Nicene Creed. The core belief is as follows: We believe in one God, the Father... in Jesus, Son of God... and in the Holy Spirit.... There you have it. Three identities in one God, all sharing equal power. Jesus, a human, became divine then God in stages, not necessarily in order ---- from baptism, conception, angelic being, adoptive Son of God, equal to God in power, to God as member of the trinity. You cannot explain this because as the theologians say, it is a mystery. You just have to believe it. But how the early church arrived at this conclusion is not hard to explain. Jesus and his disciples lived in Greco-Roman mythological worldview where gods impregnate humans and thus the offspring is called child or son of god and thereby possessing divine status. And ancient Judaism recognized supernatural beings such as angels, demons and witches possessing divine powers. During that first century world of superstition and ignorance, the early disciples evolved their christology from Judaic theology and Greco-Roman mythology. In Greek mythology for example, Zeus in the form of a snake had sex with a beautiful woman, and the offspring was Alexander the Great. The pagan world believed it then that Alexander was the son of god Zeus his father. In Christian analogy, God in the person of the Holy Spirit, “came upon” a virgin maiden, and the offspring was Jesus the Christ. The early disciples believed it then as Christians do now that Jesus was and is the son of God the father. Detractors of Ehrman say of course he is wrong --- that the disciples believed Jesus was God from the beginning of his ministry. And the worship of Jesus by prayer and other means, is a sure sign of his divinity in the eyes of his devotees. Ehrman and his detractors cite the same scriptures to argue their point, with different interpretations of course. The gospels were not written and compiled about 50 years after Jesus’s death. In fact the first writings were the letters of the apostle Paul 20 years before Mark, the first written gospel, followed by Matthew, Luke and John. So New Testament writers were writing the scripture as christological theology was evolving thru decades. And it was in John, the last written gospel, that Jesus was proclaimed God, the incarnate Word --- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word (John 1.1) Now we're talking about religious events in first century Palestine, from the perspective of twenty first worldview. In that age of superstition, it is not unusual for a person to walk up and down the countryside (in fact there were dozens of them before and after Jesus) and proclaim himself as the messiah come from God. It is not unusual in that age of ignorance, to heal the sick, eject demons, and raise the dead. The question then among the people was, Is he really from God or from the devil, or is he a magician? If a man comes around today and says he is reliving the life of Jesus, healing the sick, raising the dead, forgiving sins, that I may believe --- I will look at him with askance eye and say he's crazy. I'll say that with him around, there's no need for doctors, medicines and even hospitals. There's no need for research to cure cancer, AIDS, and other deadly diseases that plague humankind today. In fairness to believers, religion will be around as long as there is the universe as we know it. In our world there are still phenomena that science cannot explain and humankind will continue to believe in something higher than herself, natural or supernatural, rational or mystical. And concerning Jesus, I think his life and teachings can continue to inspire us to lead a moral life, minus the supernatural. In the final analysis, it doesn't matter whether the early disciples believed Jesus was God from the beginning or his divinity evolved thru time. This is a fine point of theology which non-scholar like me can hardly argue about. My question is, What we think of Jesus now in the 21st century and how he can inspire us to be better persons. The author Bart Eherman concludes his book by saying Jesus was human and was never a god. Personally I think belief in Jesus will evolve from Jesus the Christ to Jesus the Man. For Jesus to be relevant in our century, I think we have to de-evolve our concept of Jesus from a supernatural being to a human being who taught us by his life and teaching that we could lead a righteous life in the short time that we live here on earth. Thank you. ### References Bart D. Ehrman. How Jesus Became God: The exaltation of a Jewish preacher from Galilee, HarperCollins Publishers, 2014. Michael F. Bird (et al). How God Became Jesus: A response to Bart Ehrman, Zondervan, 2014. Rob Bowman. How Jesus Became God for How God Became Jesus? www.reclaimingtheword.org. David O. McClellan, April 16, 2014. https: nearemmaus.wordpress.com. J.R. David Kirk. How Jesus Became God. www.jrkirk.com. ***

critique by adolfo borromeo of the book

written by Bart Ehrman, HarperCollins, 2014

how jesus became god

 

In writing this book critique and researching related materials about the book, I've come

to the conclusion that I think puts an end to the discussion about religion in general and the

divinity of Jesus in particular. If you believe in what you believe, that is a matter of faith.

And that is enough. No matter the evidence or the lack of it, you believe your truth as

you see fit. And nobody or nothing can shake you from your faith.

And I say book critique not book review because I include by own ideas about Jesus in

particular and about religion in general.

This idea of "matter of faith" is not new of course, it has been argued about by both

sides since men argued about gods. But to my mind, it gets more relevance after reading 

Bart Ehrman's “How Jesus Became God: The exaltation of of a Jewish preacher from

sides since men argued about gods. But to my mind, it gets more relevance when I read

Galilee,” published by HarperOne this year.

Ehrman says Jesus was a lower class preacher who thought the end was coming, and

that God would establish his kingdom on earth with Jesus as king. He did not walk

around saying he was God. He at least said he was the promised messiah who came

from God to save sinners. But the end did not come, Jesus died on the cross, and his disciples scattered to avoid persecution.

But something happened. The disciples began having visions of the resurrected Jesus,

and the apostle Paul heard the voice of Jesus on the road to Damascus. It is this chain

of events that emboldened the disciples to preach the good news of salvation: That

believers will also rise from the dead, like Jesus, and join him in the heavenly kingdom.

With this belief in resurrection, there evolved the concept of Jesus from human to divine

to God. He was human until he was exalted by God to divine status, to favored angelic

status, to adoptive son of God, to equal to God, to God as a person of the trinity.

Thru the early years, some followers believed he became divine at his baptism, others

at his birth, still others before Creation making him the One God of ancient Israel.

Ehrman and scholars call this conceptual evolution as christology --- exaltation,

adoptionist, incarnational christologies.

The early churches couldn't agree on the humanity/divinity of Jesus --- that he was fully

human guided by the Spirit of God, that he was human and at the same time divine, or that he was divine in a spirit body --- until Emperor Constantine convened the bishops to

Nicea, to decide once and for all the church's unifying belief. The bishops came up with

what we now know as the Nicene Creed. The core belief is as follows:

We believe in one God, the Father... in Jesus, Son of God... and in the Holy Spirit....

There you have it. Three identities in one God, all sharing equal power. Jesus, a human, became divine then God in stages, not necessarily in order ---- from baptism,

conception, angelic being, adoptive Son of God, equal to God in power, to God as

member of the trinity. You cannot explain this because as the theologians say, it is a mystery. You just have to believe it.

But how the early church arrived at this conclusion is not hard to explain. Jesus and his

disciples lived in Greco-Roman mythological worldview where gods impregnate humans and thus the offspring is called child or son of god and thereby possessing divine status. And ancient Judaism recognized supernatural beings such as angels, demons and witches possessing divine powers. During that first century world of superstition and ignorance, the early disciples evolved their christology from Judaic theology and Greco-Roman mythology.

In Greek mythology for example, Zeus in the form of a snake had sex with a beautiful woman, and the offspring was Alexander the Great. The pagan world believed it then that Alexander was the son of god Zeus his father. In Christian analogy, God in the person of the Holy Spirit, “came upon” a virgin maiden, and the offspring was Jesus the Christ. The early disciples believed it then as Christians do now that Jesus was and is the son of God the father.

Detractors of Ehrman say of course he is wrong --- that the disciples believed Jesus

was God from the beginning of his ministry. And the worship of Jesus by prayer and other means, is a sure sign of his divinity in the eyes of his devotees. Ehrman and his

detractors cite the same scriptures to argue their point, with different interpretations of course.

The gospels were not written and compiled about 50 years after Jesus’s death. In fact the first writings were the letters of the apostle Paul 20 years before Mark, the first written gospel, followed by Matthew, Luke and John. So the New Testament writers were writing the scripture as christological theology was evolving thru decades. And it was in John, the last written gospel, that Jesus was proclaimed God, the incarnate Word ---

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word  was with God(John 1.1)

Now we're talking about religious events in first century Palestine, from the perspective of twenty first worldview. In that age of superstition, it is not unusual for a

person to walk up and down the countryside (in fact there were dozens of them

before and after Jesus) and proclaim himself as the messiah come from God. It is not

unusual in that age of ignorance, to heal the sick, eject demons, and

raise the dead. The question then among the people was, Is he really from God or from the devil, or is he a magician?

If a man comes around today and says he is reliving the life of Jesus, healing the sick,

raising the dead, forgiving sins, that I may believe --- I will look at him with askance eye

and say he's crazy. I'll say that with him around, there's no need for doctors, medicines and even hospitals. There's no need for research to cure cancer, AIDS, and other deadly diseases that plague humankind today.

In fairness to believers, religion will be around as long as there is the universe as we

know it. In our world there are still phenomena that science cannot explain and

humankind will continue to believe in something higher than herself, natural or

supernatural, rational or mystical. And concerning Jesus, I think his life and teachings

can continue to inspire us to lead a moral life, minus the supernatural.

In the final analysis, it doesn't matter whether the early disciples believed Jesus was

God from the beginning or his divinity evolved thru time. This is a fine point of theology

which non-scholar like me can hardly argue about. My question is, What we think of

Jesus now in the 21st century and how he can inspire us to be better persons.

The author Bart Eherman concludes his book by saying Jesus was human and was never a god. Personally I think belief in Jesus will evolve from Jesus the Christ to Jesus the Man. For Jesus to be relevant in our century, I think we have to de-evolve our concept of Jesus from a supernatural being to a human being who taught us by his life  and teaching that we could lead a righteous life in the short time that we live here on earth.

Thank you.

###

References

Bart D. Ehrman. How Jesus Became God: The exaltation of a Jewish preacher from Galilee, HarperCollins Publishers, 2014.

Michael F. Bird (et al). How God Became Jesus: A response to Bart Ehrman, Zondervan, 2014.

Rob Bowman. How Jesus Became God for How God Became Jesus?

www.reclaimingtheword.org.

David O. McClellan, April 16, 2014. https: nearemmaus.wordpress.com.

J.R. David Kirk. How Jesus Became God. www.jrkirk.com.

***

Jesus on Children

Jesus on the value of children
Then Jesus took a little child, and placed it in the middle of them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, Anyone who for the sake of my name welcomes one of these little children welcomes me.(Mk 9.36-37)
But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be best for him to be sunk in the depths of the sea with a great millstone hung around his neck. (Mt 18.6)
Parents, do not  irritate your children, but bring them up with discipline and instruction from the Lord. Do not provoke them, or they may be disheartened. (Eph 6.4, Col 3.21)
  IN ANCIENT TIMES, children were not held in high esteem by the Romans. Life was so hard that unwanted babies were abandoned in trash heaps by the sidewalk. Some unscrupulous passersby would pick them up and raise them as prostitutes, beggars or servants. (Daniel Akin, danielakin.com)
The children were not considered important in the social pecking order. A person could literally throw children away by exposing unwanted infants at birth. (Jonathan McLeod, sermon central.com) When the disciples tried to stop the little ones from approaching Jesus, he rebuked them and said, in effect, It is to these children that my ministry belongs.
At the same time, theologically (in another part of the scripture) Jesus enjoins the children to respect their parents and by extension their grandparents. (Honor your mother and your father.) Also Jesus tells parents to bring up the children to a moral, uplifting life thru "discipline and instruction from the Lord."
Children become what they are the way they were brought up to be, and they bring up their own children the way they were brought up to be. So this legacy of upbringing passes on from generation to generation until we become a nation of child-loving parents.
God bless our children.
---borromeofaithforjesus.blogspot.com

Jesus on Existence of Evil

Jesus on the existence of evil
reddragondesigns.net

Jesus recognizes the existence of good as well as evil. For "God causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Mt 5.45 NIV)

The good person therefore must continually seek the good, and with prayer and good deed, shall overcome evil.

Jesus was a first century prophet preaching the end time, and he had no time to convert   evil people but to enjoin good people to keep doing good.

"The good man brings good things out of evil stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men  will have to give account on the the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken." (Mt 12.35-36)

Evil exists because there are cruel persons who harbor evil and inflict pain on their fellow humans. Endowed with free will, they choose evil and twist reason to gain power or wealth over others.

Even in the face of overwhelming evil, we must not lose hope, for the arc of history bend      toward justice. "I have overcome the world," says Jesus.

God manifests himself thru man, not thru miracles or hosts of angels. So a righteous and God-fearing person must turn from evil and do good. She must seek peace and pursue it. (Ps 34.14)

We decent loving people everywhere will have nothing to do with evil. We shall avoid every kind of evil. And hold on to the good. (Ps 101.4, 1Th 5.22)

Jesus on the Existence of Evil

Jesus on the existence of evil

reddragondesigns.net

Jesus recognizes the existence of good as well as evil. For "God causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Mt 5.45 NIV)

The good person therefore must continually seek the good, and with prayer and good deed, shall overcome evil.

Jesus was a first century prophet preaching the end time, and he had no time to convert   evil people but to enjoin good people to keep doing good.

"The good man brings good things out of evil stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men  will have to give account on the the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken." (Mt 12.35-36)

Evil exists because there are cruel persons who harbor evil and inflict pain on their fellow humans. Endowed with free will, they choose evil and twist reason to gain power or wealth over others.

Even in the face of overwhelming evil, we must not lose hope, for the arc of history bend toward justice. "I have overcome the world," says Jesus.

God manifests himself thru man, not thru miracles or hosts of angels. So a righteous and God-fearing person must turn from evil and do good. She must seek peace and pursue it. (Ps 34.14)

We decent loving people everywhere will have nothing to do with evil. We shall avoid every kind of evil. And hold on to the good. (Ps 101.4, 1Th 5.22)

***

Jesus on Homosexuality

When Jesus preached in ancient Israel, he preached about the coming heavenly kingdom. He preached the way to salvation. And being a Jew teaching in a Jewish environment, he taught the Mosaic law. So the so-called sinners in his time were those who violated the Mosaic law. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Mt 5.17 NIV)

But as teacher (rabbi), he believed too that that the end was near --- “The time is coming when all who are in their graves… will come out --- those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.” (Jn 5.28-29 NIV)

And this would happen in Jesus’s generation. “This generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” (Lk 21.32 NIV)

So Jesus was concerned with salvation of mankind, whatever their sins, not any particular transgressions of man. Jesus came not to condemn sinners but to save them, not to judge but to render mercy, not to punish but to forgive. Condemn the sin but love the sinner.

Similar Event in New Testament

The reason why Jesus didn’t say anything about homosexuality was because in his daily preachings the situation did not present itself. We can deduce however what he would say based on a similar situation. When the teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought to him a woman caught in the act of adultery, and they asked him what to do with her, knowing full well that Mosaic law  commanded to stone such women, and intending to entrap him in order to have a basis for accusing him --- Jesus said, “If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 

Nobody did, and they all left. So Jesus asked the woman, “Woman where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus said. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (Jn 8.3-11 NIV)

Now Jesus did this to avoid entrapment by the scribes and the Pharisees, but more importantly, to emphasize the power of forgiveness over punishment, the overarching goal of salvation, and the coming apocalypse.

In the meantime, through the centuries, social upheavals, scientific discoveries, and secular governments have loosened the grip of religious institutions on society. Where slavery, racism and sexual bigotry were condoned in the scriptures --- now these ideas, in the 21st century, are rejected by most countries in the world, regardless of society’s predominant religion.

Diverse Demographic

Now in America, we have reelected the first black president, we have been electing openly gay and non-Christian candidates to Congress. It will only be a matter of time when we shall elect an atheist as president.

If Jesus were to preach today, he would have to preach before a diverse American demographic. He would have to interpret the scriptures in the light of today’s amalgamating culture and homogenizing society.

Today, in the 21st century, he cannot preach under the cloak of mysticism, ignorance and superstition. (Which was the worldview in the known world at that time.) He cannot honestly say that the graves will open up and the dead breathe life again in their physical bodies which had been eaten away by worms and rotten by decay. He cannot say, echoing the statement of a present-day evangelist, that homosexuals caused the tragedy of 9/11.

If Jesus were alive today, and he professed to be a Christian, Jewish or Muslim, he would say --- “God loves everyone regardless of faith, race or sexual orientation. So love everyone. That is my commandment.”

*** 

Englewood NJ Book Sale Breaks Record

The Friends of the Englewood Library broke another book sale record by grossing $17,972 during the recent four-day sale at the Renaissance Office Center, according to Northern Valley Press in its Jan. 7th issue.

"This is slightly higher than the total for the same four-day sale last year," said Cynthia Sumner to the paper. Cynthia is the Friends book sale vice president.

In her report to the Friends board of directors, she said, "What made this year's event significant is participation of a large number of of new volunteers recruited by Ella Urdang, the organizational skills of the spouses of the board members, and effective publicity campaign of Irmari Nacht."

Sale was well organized

"Several patrons commented on how well the sale was organized," Cynthia said. "The 'staggered opening'... not letting in all of the 90 people in line at the same time... seemed to work well despite some initial grumbling. Ella explained the 'rules' to everyone in her 'command' voice', and they listened.

"We had fewer piles of books left in the hallway thanks to Bobbie, Irmari and others who kept track of what was happening in the 'outside room'.

"I'm hoping that the new volunteers this year will become regular volunteers. I want to say a special thanks to Jonathan Nacht who acted as 'traffic cop' at the door on the first day, as well as monitoring people carrying books in and out of the 'inside room'. Plus he seems to have inherited Irmari's talent for organizing boxes. Our 'box room' never looked good. And thank you to J.K. Levien for helping out in clearing out the mess on the last day after the closing time."

###

The Religion of Thomas Jefferson

The Jefferson Bible

In the late hours at the White House, after attending to the affairs of the state, Thomas Jefferson would take copies of the New Testament from his drawer and meticulously cut pages and paste them on blank sheets of paper. He chose only those pages that told of the moral teachings of Jesus, without reference to his divinity or supernatural powers.

After a few hours of this cut-and-paste job, Jefferson sent the made-up pages to a bookbinder who upon his instruction embossed on the cover the title “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth.” Every night, he would spend an hour or so reading his new-bound book. This was his personal copy and he had only one copy of this book, although he had told his few friends about its existence.

This compilation, the so-called Jefferson Bible, reflects Jefferson’s personal beliefs. He had confided to his close friends that the clergy, thru the centuries, corrupted the moral teachings of Jesus and  befogged the scriptures with superstition and mysticism that it needed, according to the clergy, their esoteric knowledge in facilitating the faithful’s salvation.

Diamonds in a dung-hill
Writing to John Adams in 1813, he said, “I have performed this operation for my own use, by cutting verse by verse out of the printed book, and arranging the matter which is evidently [Jesus’s] and which is  as easily distinguished as diamonds in a dung-hill.”

And in deference to the people’s religious sentiments at that time --- remember this was in 18th century America --- Jefferson kept his beliefs to himself and asked his close friends to keep his “secret” to themselves.

So the book was known only to a few of his surviving acquaintances. Until 1895,  when the Smithsonian Institution showcased the book in Atlanta’s Cotton States International Exposition.

In 1904, the Government Printing Office printed copies of the now known Jefferson Bible, and in the following years, sent copies to newly elected congressional legislators who used the book on their oath taking, until the copies ran out in the 1950s.

Was Jefferson a Christian?
Now we come to the big question. Was Jefferson a Christian? Jefferson, in a letter to a personal friend, “I am a Christian, in the only sense [Jesus] wished anyone to be, sincerely attached to his doctrines, ascribing to himself every human excellence.” (The Jefferson Bible, Tarcher/Penguin Edition, 2012.)

If by being a Christian means following the moral precepts of Jesus as guide to living, then Jefferson was a Christian.

But if by being a Christian means believing in divine beings, the miracles and the resurrection, then Jefferson was not a Christian. He was influenced, among others, by the views of philosophers that are sweeping Europe during the Age of Enlightenment. This was also the Age of Reason, where beliefs are subjected to empirical evidence and scientific inquiry.

At the least, Jefferson is a deist, one who believes in a god who created the universe and then sat back and let the laws of nature take its course.

In the Declaration of Independence, he writes, “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people… to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and nature’s God entitle them….”

Clearly, Jefferson refers to human events as basis for human actions, not divine intervention. After god created the world, according to deists, its role is done and over with. Now man has to shape his own destiny. By extension, if this god can interfere at all, then this god does it thru human agents, not thru a host of angels coming down from the sky.

Ineffectual God

Now critics may say, What good is a god who has no power? He may have created the world but he cannot do anything afterward. What good is praying to such a god?

Jefferson was a visionary but he was also a product of his time. As a politician, in his campaign for the presidency, he had to reconcile his public persona from his personal beliefs. At that time, some Protestant sects were established by and received financial support from state authorities. His view of the “wall of separation between church and state” threatened the established clergymen’s position. He had to modify, in public, his radical view to the prevailing religious mood of the time.

Jefferson’s view of the constitutional provision “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” meant preventing other denominations from receiving privileged status from the government.

In his correspondences with friends like Joseph Priestly, Benjamin Rush and John Adams --- Jefferson confided that the clergy had corrupted the moral teachings of Jesus by beclouding them with superstition and mysticism. This corruption started during the early years of Christianity --- the early Christians, in order to convert as many pagans as possible, incorporated heathen practices to the new faith. Like the celebration of Christmas during the Roman harvest season in winter. Scholars say Jesus was not born in December and the scriptures do not mention Jesus’ date of birth.

Jefferson had suggested to his friends to write books on Jesus’ authentic life and teachings devoid of miracles and superstition. But eventually it fell upon him to do it himself.

Relevance of Jefferson Bible

Moving forward to the 21st century, we ask ourselves, What would Jefferson say?

First of all, he would say, Religion is a personal matter between man and his creator. In a published essay, he wrote: “I am averse to the communication of my religious tenets to the public, because it would countenance the presumption of those who have endeavored to draw them before the tribunal.”

Second, he’d say, The state should not interfere, within limits of course, in the citizen’s  free exercise thereof. In his Notes to the State of Virginia (1784), he wrote: “It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are no gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.”

Third, he’d say, Organized religion has corrupted the teachings of Jesus. In a letter to Benjamin Rush, he wrote: “To the corruptions of Christianity, I am indeed opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself.”

And when pressed to specify, he’d say, echoing the words of his friend Joseph Priestly, “Many Christian doctrines, like the trinity, the virgin birth, original sin, and predestination --- prevented people from understanding and embracing Christian faith and that [the clergy] multiplied the mysteries of religion and promulgated superstitions. By so doing, they clouded the minds of the laity; they convinced the common people that they needed learned authorities in order to understand their duties to God and one another.” (From the essay History of the Jefferson Bible by Harry R. Rubenstein and Barbara Clark Smith, The Jefferson Bible, Smithsonian Institution, 2011.)

What to do now

Following Jefferson’s vision to its logical conclusion, doubting believers need to reassess their beliefs and reorganize as a new faith. I said reorganize not reform because beliefs in the divinity of Jesus, the omnipotence of an invisible god, and the afterlife, among others, are the core beliefs of Christianity. A religion stands on its core beliefs. Denying these make the religion no longer Christian, any more than calling the Pope Catholic.

And while this faith is formed as another religion, it is only organized in their commitment to the Jefferson Bible. There is no hierarchy of the clergy who lay down revealed truths from a supernatural being. There is no central authority. The members gather together in small groups to study and contemplate the human life and moral teachings of Jesus.

Jefferson believed in the personal nature of faith, that a man’s belief is between him and his god. He confided to a friend, “I am a religion by myself, as far as I know.”

If you are serious with your religious beliefs, you are not alone. If you are honest with yourself, you are not alone. If you care for your family or friends who may harbor the same doubts, you are not alone.

Please go to borromeofaith.org and read the Borromeo Faith Statement of Belief. Send your
membership application to adolfoborromeo@aol.com by writing, “Yes, I am not alone. I commit myself to the Statement of Belief.”
Thank you.

***